The Philosophy of Human Evolution This book provides a unique discussion of human evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, looking at the facts and interpretations since Charles Darwin s The Descent of Man. explores such topics as the nature of scientific theories, the relationships between culture and biology, the problem of progress, and the extent to which evolutionary issues pose problems for religious beliefs. He identifies these issues, highlighting the problems for morality in a world governed by natural selection. By taking a philosophical viewpoint, the full ethical and moral dimensions of human evolution are examined. This book engages the reader in a thorough discussion of the issues, appealing to students in philosophy, biology, and anthropology. m i c h a e l r u s e is the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University. His previous publications include Can a Darwinian Be a Christian? The Relationship between Science and Religion (Cambridge, 2004), Darwinism and Its Discontents (Cambridge, 2008), and Science and Spirituality: Making Room for Faith in an Age of Science (Cambridge, 2010).
Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy and Biology General editor, Florida State University Associate editor Denis Walsh, University of Toronto Other titles in the series Derek Turner, Paleontology: A Philosophical Introduction R. Paul Thompson, Agro-Technology: A Philosophical Introduction, The Philosophy of Human Evolution
The Philosophy of Human Evolution Florida State University
c a m b r i d g e u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York Information on this title: /9780521117937 2012 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2012 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Ruse, Michael. The philosophy of human evolution /. p. cm. (Cambridge introductions to philosophy and biology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-521-11793-7 (hardback) ISBN 978-0-521-13372-2 (paperback) 1. Human evolution Philosophy. 2. Human evolution Social aspects. I. Title. GN281.R84 2012 599.93 8 dc23 2011039357 ISBN 978-0-521-11793-7 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-13372-2 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
For Francisco Ayala
Contents Figures Acknowledgements page viii x 1 Evolutionary biology 1 2 Human evolution 39 3 Real science? Good science? 66 4 Progress 99 5 Knowledge 128 6 Morality 155 7 Sex, orientation, and race 185 8 From eugenics to medicine 225 Bibliography 246 Index 265 vii
Figures viii 1.1 The structure of the Origin page 6 1.2 The vertebrate archetype 12 1.3 Variation among Galapagos tortoises 13 1.4 The Linnaean hierarchy 15 1.5 Homology between the forelimbs of mammals 16 1.6 Embryological similarity between human and dog 18 1.7 Survivorship of adult D. melanogaster flies from population selected for alcohol tolerance and a population not selected in six different concentrations of ethanol 23 1.8 A genetic landscape 25 1.9 The effects of continental drift on the distributions of (the fossil remains of) animals and plants in Lystrosaurus habitats 33 1.10 Spandrel from the Villa Farnesina, Rome 34 1.11a Molecular homology: the adult fruit fly, embryo, and Hox genes 37 1.11b Molecular homology: comparison of the proteins produced by the Hox genes of fruit flies and vertebrates 37 2.1 Buffon s Jocko 42 2.2 Homo sapiens neandertalensis 45 2.3 Hottentot Venus 46 2.4 Australopithecus afarensis ( Lucy ) 50 2.5 Human ancestry 52 4.1 The fossil record as known when the Origin was published 105 4.2 Haeckel s tree of life 108 4.3 The progress of man 114 4.4 Saber-toothed mammals 117
List of figures ix 5.1 The evolution of theories as envisioned by Stephen Toulmin 133 6.1 The trolley problem 179 7.1 Percentage of women in DVM graduating classes, Cornell University 198 7.2 Lesbian Greek vase 203 7.3 Thomas Henry Huxley s racial classification 215 7.4 Racial types: African versus Eskimo 218 7.5 Human phylogeny 220 8.1 Timeline of antibiotic deployment and the development of antibiotic resistance 232
Acknowledgements No book is written in isolation, certainly not this one. As you will see on every page, it was Charles Darwin and his wonderful theory of evolution through natural selection that made possible all interesting inquiry about human origins and their implications. More immediately, for detailed knowledge about human evolution I am much in the debt of my colleague, the paleoanthropologist Dean Falk. Her wisdom and friendship are very much appreciated. As always, my thinking has been shaped in many ways by the interaction with three people: the philosopher David Hull, the historian and philosopher Robert J. Richards, and the biologist Edward O. Wilson. The paleontologist Daniel McShea has long stimulated my interest in the question of progress in evolution, and I owe much to Randolph Nesse for his pioneering thinking about evolutionary medicine. Hilary Gaskin at Cambridge University Press was supportive as always, and the co-editor of the series to which this book belongs, Denis Walsh, gave the manuscript a thoughtful reading. I am tremendously in debt to my wife Lizzie for everything. Finally, I want say what pleasure my dedication gives to me. I have known Francisco J. Ayala for over thirty years, admired his work, and enjoyed his friendship. Above all, I respect the time and effort he has given to the well-being of science, whether it be on the witness stand critiquing Creationism, taking leadership roles in leading organizations and academies, or welcoming people from the world over to his laboratory. I doubt whether he will agree with everything I have said in this book, but I can say that without the work of people like him such a book could not have been written. x